Cristiano Ronaldo says everyone misunderstood why he cried after missing Euro 2024 penalty

Cristiano Ronaldo has opened up about the emotional moment he shed tears after missing a vital penalty for Portugal at Euro 2024. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner revealed all in a candid chat with his former Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand.

The veteran striker, who had not scored at the tournament, had his penalty cancelled out by Jan Oblak in extra time in Portugal's round of 16 tie against Slovenia. Visibly distraught during a rally moments later, Ronaldo recovered to score in the ensuing penalty shootout, as Portugal won 3-0.

Despite being the butt of social media jokes and accusations of selfishness, the Al-Nassr star vehemently denies any claims that his passing is the cause of his tears. And the real inspiration is far more heartwarming.

“When you have passion for what you do, you can't worry about what you feel,” he told Ferdinand on his YouTube channel UR Cristiano Ronaldo. “For example, I cried the day I missed the penalty… when I cried, it wasn't because I thought that if I didn't score, Portugal would be eliminated and the world would collapse on me. It wasn't because of that.”

“People don’t know me. Imagine you score the last 27 penalties. And meanwhile you feel bad for yourself. The people who come to the stadium, your kids, your mother, your girlfriend, everyone. I feel sad because of that.”

Ronaldo has spoken about the emotional cost of failing to live up to his own high standards, saying it is part of being “true” to himself. “I didn't even think about it [Portugal losing]” he admitted.

“I felt sad because of the pressure I put on myself since I was 11 years old. ‘Cristiano Ronaldo, you are the best player in the world’, I always think about that in my head. And I put a lot of pressure on myself. [because of that].

“When things go wrong, you feel it. But I like it, I know how to deal with it. But when I missed the penalty, I felt bad for myself, for the fans, for my family, not for anything else. You have to express yourself. For me, if you hide these things, you are not yourself.”

Despite scoring a goal in the penalty shootout, Portugal were beaten 5-3 on penalties by France in the Euro quarter-finals. It was the first time Ronaldo had failed to score in a major international competition, after a rather poor performance.